1. “Greening” the waste sector Ahmed, M.M.M. Institute of environmental studies Annual Conference for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research (Basic and Engineering Sciences) Friendship Hall 17-20 February 2012 Greening the waste sector r efers to a shift from less-preferred waste treatment and disposal methods such as incineration (without energy recovery) and different forms of land filling towards the “three Rs”: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The strategy is to move upstream in the waste management hierarchy, based on the internationally recognized approach of Integrated Solid Waste Management or ISWM (Figure 1). 2 Challenges and opportunities in the waste sector 2.1 Challenges A- The growing volume and complexity of waste Currently, 3.4-4 billion tonnes of municipal and industrial waste are produced every year, of which non- hazardous industrial waste accounts for 1.2 billion tonnes A major share of the waste generated is MSW originating from urban settlements (1.7-1.9 billion tonnes, or 46 per cent of the total waste generated) with 0.77 billion tonnes of this being produced by 25 OECD countries alone. Figure 2 illustrates the high proportion of organic-rich MSW in middle and lower income countries with a gross national income per capita of less than US$12,196, while the high- income countries’ MSW streams contain a large proportion of paper and plastics Source: Adapted from UNEP and UNU (2009 ) Figure 1. The waste management hierarchy Figure 2: Composition of MSW by national income Source : Data sourced from Chalmin and Gaillochet (2009) and averaged Table 1: Estimates of e-waste generation (tonnes per year) Figure 3: Relationship between private consumption and municipal waste in OECD countries Source : OECD (2008) “ Greening” the waste sector Under ISWM, activities of greening the sector can include: Resource conservation, which avoids excessive resource consumption; Waste reduction through resource use optimization that minimises resource wastage; Waste collection and segregation, ensuring appropriate waste treatment; Waste reuse, which circulates waste and avoids the use of virgin resources; Waste recycling, which converts waste into useful products; Energy recovery, which harnesses residual energy from waste; Landfill avoidance, which conserves land and avoids risks of contamination; and Construction and maintenance of infrastructure for waste collection, recovery of materials from waste streams (collection and segregation) Biomass waste includes agricultural and forestry waste. It is estimated that globally 140 billion tonnes of agricultural residue is generated every year. Electronic waste (e-waste) continues to increase dramatically amid growing global demand for electronic and electrical goods (Table 1). The total e-waste generated worldwide rose from 6 million tonnes in 1998 to 20-50 million tonnes in 2005. Hazardous waste requires special handling and treatment even in low quantities. e.g. used batteries, spent paints and residual chemical pesticides as well as Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) such as refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers, cleaning products, electronic equipments and agricultural fumigants. Packaging waste and its management has become a major issue in high-income countries. For example, EU15 recorded an increase in packaging waste from 160 kg per capita in 1997 to 179 kg per capita in 2004. Marine litter consists of material discarded directly or indirectly from recreational/shoreline. Figure 3 shows the correlation between MSW generation and GDP. In high-income countries, an urban population of 0.3 billion generates approximately 0.24 million tonnes of MSW (0.8 kg per capita per day), while in low-income countries around the same amount (0.26 million tonnes per day) is generated by 1.3 billion people (0.2 kg per capita per day), a quarter of the level in high-income countries. Landfill remains the predominant method of disposal in these countries. Globally, UNEP and UNU estimate that 20 to 50 million tonnes of e-waste are disposed of each year, which accounts for 5 per cent of all MSW. E-waste also has a significant role to play in the recycling sector in developing countries even though it is not necessarily generated in those countries. Benefits from investment in greening the waste sector 1 Resource and energy conservation Recycling paper will save up to 17 trees and reduce water-use by 50 per cent. Energy savings in turn bring reductions in GHG emissions. 2 Job creation Up to 15 million people are engaged in waste collection for their livelihood in developing countries. In developing countries the recycling is predominantly controlled by the informal sector, and it is often hazardous, unsafe work. 3- New avenues for employment are opening up. e.g. for waste-tracking and mapping using (GIS) and/or (GPS), accounting software for waste-charging using (MIS); 4- Compost production The use of composted organic waste as a fertiliser and soil conditioner brings economic benefits to small-scale farmers and reduces nutrient run-off and nitrogen leaching. It could also increase carbon management properties of the soil and enhance the crop yields. 5- Energy production from waste Agricultural residue generated primarily in rural areas amounting to 140 billion tones. Large-scale biogas plants have been proved to be economically viable with return on investments. Smaller decentralised biogas plants benefit from a lower pay-back period. 6- Reduced GHG emissions The greening of the waste sector offers promising opportunities to mitigate climate change. they help reduce GHG emissions, they can earn carbon credits. Conclusions The increasing volume and complexity of waste is posing threats to ecosystems and human health, but opportunities do exist to green the waste sector. These opportunities come from the growing demand for improved waste management and for resource and energy recovery from waste. The growth of the waste market is a reflection of the underlying demand for greening the sector. Different countries face different waste related challenges, but the path to greening the waste sector shares common milestones. Proper collection, segregation, transport, and recycling of waste as well as the construction of basic facilities are essential steps in many developing countries. Benefits include resources recovered from waste such as compost and energy, lower cost of reducing GHG emissions, carbon credits, avoided health costs, and job creatio n. References EPA (2010). Materials Characterization Paper, In Support of the Proposed Rulemaking: Identification of Nonhazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste AutoShredder Residue, http://www. pa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/define/pdfs/auto-shred.pdf.http://www Chalmin P. and Gaillochet C. (2009). From waste to resource, An abstract of world waste survey, Cyclope, Veolia Environmental Services, Edition Economica, France OECD (2008). Key environmental indicators, OECD Environmental Directorate, Paris, France, http://www.oecd.org/ dataoecd/20/40/37551205.pdfhttp://www.oecd.org/ UNEP (2005). E-waste, the hidden side of IT equipment’s manufacturing and use, Environmental Alert Bulletin, http://www. grid.unep.ch/product/publication/download/ewewaste.en.pdfhttp://www UNEP (2009a). 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